Chris Morris understands blessing behind his turn of fortune

By Khanyiso Tshwaku - 16 May 2019

Chris Morris of the Proteas during the South African national men's cricket team training session at Powerade Centre of Excellence on May 16, 2019 in Pretoria, South Africa. Image: Lee Warren/Gallo Images

Chris Morris knew he wasn't a first pick to go to the World Cup but even now that he's going to the event‚ he'd made peace with the fact it was a fair decision to leave him out.

Being an honest player‚ Morris admitted that he wasn't consistent enough to command a place in the initial 15-man squad. Morris‚ though‚ said the selectors were honest enough to give him the clarity he required but that didn't put him down.

“I had a honest conversation with the selectors in terms of where I sit with them in terms of the World Cup because you think of that when you perform.

"There's so much noise around World Cup selection so I needed a bit of clarity.

"The clarity was that I wasn't in line for the World Cup and I was behind a couple of players‚” Morris said.

“I could appreciate the honesty‚ I could appreciate where I was and I could understand because the guys were doing a lot better than I was.

"It took some time to accept that but I just got on with the job.

"I was the all-rounder that was at the back of the pecking order with the other all-rounders being better than I was.

"I accept selection very quickly and as much as it hurt‚ it's out of your hands.”

Morris got into the World Cup squad on the back of Anrich Nortje's unfortunate hand injury.

Sport is weird in a way that someone's misfortune works to someone else's benefit.

The lanky Titans all-rounder understands how this cycle works but also understands the blessing behind his turn of fortune.

“When I first heard the news‚ I was heartbroken because it's never fun for a person to miss out on the World Cup because of a broken finger or injury‚" he said.

"It's a blessing to be here though and not many people get the opportunity to go to a World Cup.

"My chance has come in a certain way and I have to make the most of it‚” Morris said.

Having spent a fair bit of time with the Delhi Capitals in the recently completed Indian Premier League‚ Morris has a fair bit of cricket behind him.

It's cricket that's allowed him to iron out any wrinkles that may have formed through the recent injury breaks that have hampered his recent progress.

Morris has been cast as an inconsistent cricketer in the 50-over game and this is something he's accepted with good grace.

The 32-year-old‚ who said he wasn't happy with his batting performance in the IPL‚ said his inconsistency was down to him over-thinking his game instead of playing what's in front of him.

“This game tends to be quite simple and when you overcomplicate it‚ that's when the inconsistency creeps in.

"I have been inconsistent and we can't beat around the bush in regards with that one. My consistency has been lacking and I think it's down to over-thinking‚” Morris said.

“I think it's something of the past now and it's amazing how much you can learn in a year. The only way one can fix inconsistency is to prove people wrong.”